Standoff ends with disabling of suspect

11:55 PM,
Apr. 10, 2013

Cowger

Written by

Mark Bell
The Daily News Journal

A five-hour standoff involving a suicidal man at an Ella Street home ended in dramatic fashion Tuesday night when a Smyrna Police sniper shot him with foam "less lethal" rounds to disable him as an entry team rushed into his home to bring him into custody, the Smyrna Police chief said.

Michael Cowger, 64, of 300 Ella St., was charged with six counts of reckless endangerment and one count of aggravated domestic assault after the incident, which began around 7:30 p.m. when Smyrna 911 communications received a call from his wife stating Cowger was "upset, intoxicated and armed with a weapon," ...